If the focus of the last budget was on primary health centre oriented health delivery mechanism, this time around, the government has taken one step forward focusing on life style diseases and expansion of cancer care schemes. The idea is to have screening programmes on a wider scale at the primary health centres for early detection of life style diseases. In other words, the primary health centres will now also function as effective screening centres with facilities for initial treatment. Apart from early detection, the government appears to be serious in disease prevention and life style modification, to check life style diseases which are taking toll not only on the people's health but also putting additional financial burden on the public health care system.
The average longevity being high compared to other states, there is also tremendous pressure to provide geriatric care in government hospitals. However, the facilities are limited at the moment. We have not been able to implement many of the announcements made in the last budget. However, with no major announcements being made this year, the government can focus on completing the projects that had been announced earlier. The next three years could be utilised for this purpose. Though the government had announced strengthening of Asha workers last year, nothing much had happened on this front. However, with the focus now being on screening, the government will have to increase their strength. Asha works play a crucial role in house to house campaigns inducing screening activities.
The cancer treatment policy is major step towards bringing in 80 per cent of the cancer treatment under the public sector. Raising the level of Malabar Cancer Centre and Kochi Cancer Centre to the level of regional cancer centre, though announced earlier, needs to be taken forward at the earliest. The proposal to have a cancer drug manufacturing unit attached to Kerala State Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Ltd in Alappuzha is a welcome announcement. Cancer drugs are highly expensive and having an own unit in the state will go a long way in making available cost effective quality medicines. Rs 15 crore has been set aside for this purpose as initial amount.
However, the government needs to set up research and development units considering the fact that newer cancer drugs are arriving in the market almost on a daily basis. In future, along with drug manufacturing, a parallel research and development mechanism will also have to be evolved. On the national insurance policy announced in union budget on Thursday, there is still no clarity about its implementation. Since the state governments would be contributing 40 per cent share for the scheme, we hope the Centre will take into consideration the requirements in each state. Special care will have to be taken to ensure that those availing the existing health insurance scheme of the state government.
The announcement that the state government, if needed, will even pay the entire premium of those who are currently enrolled with the Karunya scheme is a welcome one. Though the announcement on starting cath labs in each district sounds good, the ground reality is different. The shortage of cardiologists and technicians should not lead to a situation where the equipment at cath labs remain unused for want of trained and experienced staff.
Most hospitals are doing procedures in cath labs in real time. Enough qualified and experienced hands are needed for performing cath lab. But the situation on the ground is grim with even major districts having no experienced cardiologists. The cath labs are expensive, requiring several crores of rupees. Hence, the government needs to improve the strength of qualified and experienced doctors if it is serious about expanding cath lab facilities. On the whole the government needs to use all its resources and energies in completing the ambitious projects announced in the budget.
(As told to Gilvester Assary).
